Vegas and the Grand Canyon

Awhile back, Patrick and I made a list of some places we wanted to show the kids. The Grand Canyon was on that list. I have tried to plan a trip there many times, but it is quite out of the way. But with the kids being older, I figured they would find Vegas to be a fun place and it's relatively close to the Grand Canyon. So, we booked our flights and hotels and headed out of town the day after school got out for summer. Our flight was scheduled to leave in the morning so we would have an entire day in Vegas once we arrived. Unfortunately, there was no plane and no pilots. They kept telling us it would only be a short delay. Ten hours later, we finally boarded the plane and got into Vegas late at night. It was a loooong day at the airport, but thankfully we spent much of the day at the USO. The lights of Vegas lifted the kids spirits and we were glad to have made it!

(Spoiler Alert: To my surprise, the next day I received a voucher from the airlines for the delay which I then used for a family trip to Harry Potter world over Labor Day. All's well that ends well.)

As expected, the kids loved the hotels. They were in awe of the size, scale, and number on the strip. We stayed a few nights at the Mandalay Bay and spent the first day walking the strip.

We walked over 4 miles to the end of the strip where we had worked up an appetite for the lunch buffet at the Wynn hotel. The lobby was full of flowers and a carousel made of flowers.

The buffet was huge and they kept rotating the food so there was always something new when you went back for seconds, thirds, fourths...There was a 2 hour time limit thankfully.

The buffet stations went on and on.

There was even a separate dessert room! The kids spent most their time here.

Gavin actually tried quite a few new foods and enjoyed the crab claws.

That afternoon, the Barber's arrived and everyone enjoyed the giant wave pool and sandy beach.

Then it was off to the Hoover Dam.

And yes, we took the dam tour.

The water levels are historically low as can be seen by the difference in color of the rock.

We then continued on to the Grand Canyon and stopped along Route 66 for some excellent Mexican food.

The Grand Canyon. South Rim.

When we walked to this overlook, Gavin replied: "So, is this the Grand Canyon?"

Guess he wasn't impressed.

We hiked a few miles along the rim stopping to climb trees and rocks.

The Colorado River still working away.

Then back in the car for the 4 hour ride back to Vegas. We stayed at the MGM Grand when we got back and although we arrived at 10pm, the line was over an hour long to check in. Once we finally got to the counter, they told Zach and me they no longer had our rooms available. So, they upgraded us to suites with a view and Zach persuaded them to throw in a free dinner! We may not have gambled on this trip but we ended up hitting the jack pot!

It's going to be hard to go back to a regular room. Even the kids knew it was amazing.

The next day we spent a lazy day in the lazy river. I had chosen these 2 hotels solely based on their water activities and pools. Each hotel had something different to offer. The kids had fun pool hopping and we all soaked up the desert sun.

That afternoon, we watched the fountains at the Bellagio and then headed back to the hotel before the night crowd came out. The kids all hung out in the room together and the adults took advantage of our free dinner.

Another great trip. Another place checked off the list!